Empty
by Bluest inkwell
Summary: Harry deals with the fact that Hermione picked Ron instead of him.


((Disclaimer: I do not own the title Harry Potter, the characters of Harry Potter, or anything that really has anything to do with the Harry Potter books. I make absolutely no profit from the writing or posting of this story.))

**Empty**

Harry sat in the top of the tree. Things hadn't been good. He was angry, but he had every reason to be angry. He was the boy who lived and he had garbage for a life! What kind of justice was that? It was stupid and it was only going to get worse. He didn't want to talk to anyone about it. He didn't want to have to explain himself or his actions to anyone.

The breeze blew through the branches of the tree, causing leaves to tickle against his skin. He could watch the Quidditch field from here, where Hufflepuff was having a training session. Even Quidditch hadn't been able to offer Harry an escape from the mundane melodrama that was his life. It was just something else that he felt that he was being forced to do. It was just another place where he had to put on a happy face and act like everything was fine.

He was sick of it. It made him physically ill to think about all of this. People kept on telling him that it wasn't healthy for him to keep all of his emotions bottled up like this. They kept on telling him that he needed to let everything out. They were wrong. He didn't need anyone to talk to, and he didn't need some time to vent. They didn't know how he felt, or what he was going through. They could never know.

No one had ever known how he was feeling. No one had ever known what he life was like. He hadn't even realized how far down the ladder of life he had slipped until recently. He had been surrounding himself with so many distractions to keep his mind off of what he was actually feeling inside of him. He had managed to keep a full schedule of classes, a social life, Quidditch, and all of that battling the dark lord Voldemort, and he had kept it in balance. He had managed to go through all of this without thinking about everyone who he had lost, or who had lost their lives because of him, and when he did think about it he managed to not let it eat his soul away and destroy him.

He wasn't trying anymore. It wasn't worth it to put on a happy face for the world around him to see. He didn't have anything left worth putting a happy face on for. He didn't need to impress anyone. He didn't need to provide emotional support for anyone. It seemed that while he had been so busy trying not to face his past and his present, everyone else had managed to find their future. No one had a future that needed him to be in it anymore.

Hermione looked up to the top of the tree where the boy that she had once looked up to was now sitting, staring off at the Quidditch field, "Hi, Harry…"

Harry said nothing. He didn't need to speak to Hermione. She knew everything that he had to say to her. She had betrayed him, just like Ron had. He didn't need her. He didn't need her support. He definitely didn't need her friendship. If he let her back into his life she'd just betray him again. It no longer mattered with her. She didn't care about him, and he'd be damned if he was going to force himself to care about her.

"Harry…I'm sorry." She spoke softly as she looked down at the ground.

He wasn't going to put up with this anymore. He clenched his fists tightly, begging whichever god would listen to make Hermione stop talking. He didn't need her words. He didn't need to listen to her. She had nothing to say to him that he hadn't already heard. She had nothing to say to him that he was willing to believe.

"I didn't mean for this to…I didn't mean…" She spoke softly, trying to form her words. This wasn't like her. She usually knew exactly what she had to say and then she'd say it. This wasn't the sort of thing she was used to. She wasn't used to not knowing what to say.

Harry let himself fall out of the tree, landing on his feet in a crouched position. He slowly pushed himself up on his legs so that he'd be standing and narrowed his eyes, shaking his head at Hermione. He wasn't going to listen to her cry and be sad. She had no right to be sad.

"What is it, Hermione?" He snapped.

She fell to her knees, bringing her arms up against her chest, on hand gripping the wrist of the other arm. She wasn't used to any of this. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Harry wasn't like this. She knew Harry and he never would have snapped at her like that. Tears started to well up in her eyes as she stared at Harry, shaking a little with fear.

Harry's knuckles had turned white from the clenching of his fists, "What? Am I still not good enough? You know what? I've stopped caring about you!" He threw his hand to the side, "I've had it with you and Ron! Do you head me?"

Hermione sobbed softly, "Harry, you don't mean that…I know you-"

"NO! You don't know me!" Harry screamed at her, "None of you know me!"

"Harry…don't say that…" Hermione was sobbing, crying into her hands, "We're your friends…"

Harry clenched his fists tighter, fighting the urge to hit Hermione, "No, you're not. I loved you Hermione! I would have done anything to be with you!" He turned and looked straight at the trunk of the tree behind him, "I even told you! I asked you how you felt!"

Hermione was having trouble speaking now. The tears and sobs made it hard for her lungs to gather enough air to be able to form words, "…Harry…I…"

He spun around and glared at her from behind eyes filled with tears, "You said you didn't know! You gave me a false hope when really all you wanted was Ron!"

"I…" Hermione started.

"I don't care! I don't need to listen to you anymore! You gave me a false hope when you knew I could never have you." He wiped away his tears with his sleeve, "I hate you! I hate you and Ron! None of you ever gave a damn about me! I was only ever in your thoughts when I was convenient!"

"Harry…you know that isn't how I feel…" She looked up at him, tears still streaming out of her eyes.

"You never cared about me until I wasn't around!" He turned and took a deep breath before starting to climb up the tree again, "Go back to Ron, Hermione. I'm sure that he's worried about his girlfriend by now."

Hermione made one last sob and gasp and then turned and wan back in the direction of the Quidditch field. Harry wasn't going to cry for her anymore. He had finally let out all of his pent up frustration. He had finally let out all of his anger. He wouldn't cry this time. He wouldn't think about it anymore.

He winced slightly as he looked up at the sky. Somehow this wasn't what he had been expecting. He had finally faced Hermione and the fact that she had chosen Ron instead of him. Somehow the emptiness inside him now was so much worse than when he had been keeping all of that inside. He let a single tear roll down his cheek as he looked up at the sky.

((AN: Heh…random emotion on paper and with Harry Potter Characters.))


End file.
